This invention relates to a merchandising display for bottles, and, more particularly, to a rack for holding bottles by the neck.
Display racks are useful for displaying bottles, especially beverage bottles, because a rack stacks many bottles using a limited amount of floor space which is always at a premium. Racks foster a neat display and allow one bottle to be removed without disturbing the other bottles. It is always desirable to have a rack that minimizes floor space, reduces manufacturing cost, or reduces transportation and storage costs. Contemporary display racks are typically stand alone units with fixed dimensions including a fixed height. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that it would be highly desirable to have a display rack whose height could be varied and could be easily transported and stored.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above. Briefly summarized, according to one aspect of the invention,. a merchandising display device for holding bottles by their necks comprises a vertically oriented hub, a flange attached to the hub and extending horizontally from the hub, and a skirt attached to the flange and extending downward from the flange with the skirt having a plurality of keyways adapted to receive and hold a bottle its neck. The hub, flange and skirt can be integrally formed as a module. Modules can be stacked one atop the other to a desired height. Individual modules are easy to handle and store requiring much less storage space than a complete rack.
According to another aspect of the invention, a modular display device for holding a plurality of bottles by necks of the bottles comprises first and second modules. The first module comprises a first hub having a vertically extending longitudinal axis. The first hub has an upper portion, a lower portion and a middle portion intermediate the upper and lower portions. A first flange is attached to the middle portion of the first hub and extends horizontally from the first hub. A first skirt is attached to the first flange and extends downward from the first flange. The first skirt has a plurality of keyways adapted to receive and hold a bottle by a neck of the bottle. The second module comprises a second hub having a vertically extending longitudinal axis. The second hub has an upper portion, a lower portion and a middle portion intermediate the upper and lower portions. A second flange is attached to the middle portion of the second hub and extends horizontally from the second hub. A second skirt is attached to the second flange and extends downward from the second flange. The second skirt has a plurality of keyways adapted to receive and hold a bottle by a neck of the bottle. The upper portion of the first hub is smaller in dimension than the lower portion of the second hub so that the second module can receive the first module to stack the modules one atop the other.
According to another aspect of the invention, a modular display device for holding a plurality of bottles by necks of the bottles comprises first and second modules. The first module comprises a first hub having a vertically extending longitudinal axis. The first hub has an upper portion, a lower portion and a middle portion intermediate the upper and lower portions. A first flange is attached to the middle portion of the first hub and extends horizontally from the first hub. A first skirt is attached to the first flange and extends downward from the first flange The first skirt has a plurality of upper openings each adapted to receive a bottle and a plurality of lower openings each adapted hold a bottle by a neck of the bottle. The second module comprises a second hub having a vertically extending longitudinal axis. The second hub has an upper portion, a lower portion and a middle portion intermediate the upper and lower portions. The upper portion of the first hub is smaller in dimension than the lower portion of the second hub so that the second module receives the first module to stack the modules one atop the other. A second flange is attached to the middle portion of the second hub and extends horizontally from the second hub. A second skirt is attached to the second flange and extends downward from the second flange. The second skirt has a plurality of upper openings each adapted to receive a bottle and a plurality of lower openings each adapted to hold a bottle by a neck of the bottle. Each of the upper openings of the first skirt mate with one of the lower openings of the second skirt to form a keyway adapted to receive and hold a bottle by a neck of the bottle.
The modules stack one atop the other to a desired height. Individual modules are easily stored using less space than a completely erected display rack. Each module can be molded and connected to one another without the need for other fasteners.
These and other aspects, objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood and appreciated from a review of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and appended claims, and by reference to the accompanying drawings